Monday 11th May witnessed the inaugural Inter-Regional Wine and Spirit Trade Association blind wine-tasting match. The tasting was borne out of desire to support the Benevolent, the Drinks Industry charity, and in excess of £2000.00 was raised, all of which will go towards improving the quality of living for members of the drinks community, who find themselves in a time of need. Four teams, representing regional associations from across the country, travelled to the magnificent setting of The Vintners’ Company in London, to pit their blind tasting prowess against one another. We had selected 8 wines to show blind; 4 whites followed by 4 reds, each of which were single or predominant grape varieties and illustrated the typifying qualities of their type. After the flight of white wines, in which the Domaine Josmeyer Pinot Gris 1854 Fondation 2008 proved particularly challenging, with the precise Alsatian village foxing them all (Wintzenheim!), the Yorkshire WSTA and Wine Spirits Education Trust were joint leaders. However everything was still to play for and the Midlands WSTA proved hugely impressive on the reds, scoring 5 out of 5 on the Robert Sinskey Pinot Noir 2011 from Los Carneros, California. After the final red wine was revealed, a 2012 Rosso di Montalcino from Tuscany, the teams were invited upstairs to enjoy a glass of Pol Roger Brut Reserve before the results were announced. And with only 5 points separating the bottom team from the top, it was clear that all teams were very closely matched. However it was the Midlands WSTA team who emerged victorious and claimed the trophy; each team member was awarded a bottle of Pol Roger Brut Vintage 2004 as their prize. It was a hugely successful event and one that we look forward to repeating and expanding in 2016. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the Vintners’ Company for their extremely generous support.